Art & Philosophy
A Durham Wharf Residency Project
Jake Garfield's project brought a group of young people together to discuss big, philosophical ideas every Saturday morning for eight weeks. Each week the group would explore a different theme, through discussion and practical tasks. The project was documented with a short film.
Week 1 – Values in Aesthetics
After an introduction to the project the group grappled with questions such as ‘what is more important, truth or beauty?’ and ‘When is destruction a creative act?’ They also worked together to decide what their criteria for a philosophical question should be.
Week 2 – Emergence & Consciousness
The group discussed the philosophical concept of a ‘zombie’, someone who looks and acts just like a person but has no inner consciousness. They compared ant colonies to the human brain and discussed whether an ant colony or a city could have consciousness. Finally, they worked together on a composite drawing – each drawing a few squares, which were combined to form a single image.
Week 3 – Etching
The group learned how to etch in the RCA print hall. They worked with soft ground on copper, and discussed the nature of printmaking with RCA staff.
Week 4 – “When actors kiss, are they really kissing?”
The group participated in a philosophical enquiry based on a clip from Pulp Fiction. They spoke about ethics in art, and when the line between reality and art becomes fuzzy.
Week 5 – British Museum Prints & Drawings Room
The group had the opportunity to see prints from the British Museum archive: two screenprints by Chuck Close and etchings on the theme of war by Otto Dix and Francisco de Goya. After drawing from the work, the group talked about horror in art and the tightrope of fact and fiction within images.
Week 6 – From Echo & Narcissus to Printmaking
The group began by sharing their thoughts and feelings about the attacks in Paris. They then read Ted Hughes’ translation of Ovid’s Echo & Narcissus myth and made some quick monotypes in the Print Hall. Parallels were drawn between Echo’s repetition to the translational symmetry that can occur in printmaking and from the Narcissus water reflection to the reflectional symmetry that is also common in printmaking.
Week 7 – “What Makes you, you?”
The group explored identity, both in relation to the ‘self’ and in regards to problems of authenticity and artistic integrity. Their last enquiry was based on the Jeffrey Lewis song ‘Don’t Let The Record Label Take You Out To Lunch’, with the students taking turns to lead the discussion.
Week 8 – Responses
Everyone gave a presentation based on something that had resonated with them during the project. The question of truth or beauty is more important in art (from Week 1) was a particularly popular subject, in an engaging and diverse collection of presentations.